Delavan | Wisconsin

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The Visit Delavan Coupon Book is back and filled with some familiar favorites and some tempting new venues for dining, shopping, and services in Delavan, Wisconsin! Getting yours is easy – just give us a call at 800-395-8687 or fill out our request form at VisitDelavan.com/couponbook/.

With 66 different offers available, covering dining at eight restaurants, shopping at thirteen stores and deals for five different recreational establishments, there is sure to be a savings option for you! Plan a day of fun all around Delavan just by exploring the many deals available in this book. Track down some great finds at local retailers, grab a game of golf or try out a paddleboard, then finish off the day with a luxurious spa treatment. There is so much to experience in Delavan.

Don’t forget to check out what exciting events are going on during your visit in Delavan! Our events calendar is loaded with festivals, live shows and unique dining experiences that will enhance your visit at any time of the year! Need some ideas? Check out Delavan’s winter festival, Sky Circus on Ice February 15 – 17, where professional kite teams from around the world showcase their skills on Delavan Lake. Or chug down the tracks to the Delavan Train Show March 9 & 10, for one of the largest train shows in the Midwest featuring operating layouts located throughout downtown businesses.

Whether coming alone, bringing the whole family, or planning a getaway with a few friends, your time in Delavan will be both fun and affordable, all through the use of the Coupon Book. Call ahead at 800-395-8687 or fill out our request form at VisitDelavan.com/couponbook/ to get your Coupon Book sent to you to help plan your trip!

Delavan, Wisconsin is the place to be when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. From family friendly events to parties to show stoppers to fantastic dining, Delavan is the perfect place to ring in the New Year. To view all of the New Year’s events, go to www.visitdelavan.com/events/.

New Year’s Eve

Light It Up – New Year’s At Noon | 11:30 am – 3:30 pmRosewood, 2484 County Rd. O South, Delavan
(262) 725-7286, www.rosewoodwi.com
All of the festivities of a New Year’s Eve celebration with an earlier bedtime! Includes a chef attended station menu, show, countdown, and champagne toast.

New Year’s Eve Celebration | 5 pm – 1 amLake Lawn Resort, 2400 E. Geneva St., Delavan
(262) 728-7950, www.lakelawnresort.com
Hosting New Year’s Eve parties for all ages. Rocking New Year’s Eve in the Great Room with live music, dancing, and bar service. There is also a family party with a DJ, dancing, family games, and kids’ crafts. There is also a DJ and karaoke in the Lookout Bar & Eatery. The Frontier Restaurant is offering a fine dining experience to ring in the new year lakeside.

Ring In The New Year at The Lounge | 7 pm – 12 amDelavan Lake Store, 2001 North Shore Dr., Delavan
(262) 725-6747, www.delavanlakestore.com
Start the night off with music from Johnny B., followed by karaoke, games, and a champagne toast at midnight. Children are welcome and will have supervision for a small fee.

Steak and Shrimp New Year’s Eve Dinner Party | 7 pm – 4 amThe End Zone Sports Bar and Grill, 4112 Blue Gill Rd., Delavan
(262) 728-2420
Enjoy a fixed priced dinner of steak, shrimp, and drinks. Thee will be a champagne toast and balloon drop at midnight, as well as party favors, DJ, and dancing.

Other New Year’s Activities

Vision Board Party | Friday, December 28 | 6 – 8 pmStaller Estate Winery, W8896 County Road A, Delavan
(608) 883-2100, www.stallerestate.com
Start 2019 with a vision for success. Create a Vision Board to help you set goals and be successful in the New Year.

You know it’s the prime time of summer when Shake the Lake Music Festival returns to the shores of Delavan Lake for a weekend of “fun, food and drink”! This sensational festival at Lake Lawn Resort never fails to deliver a lineup of rocking bands along with delectable food and drink to create a weekend of revelry that you will never forget.

FUN

The mix of retro rock bands on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will draw you into the best decades of rock music with the tunes of Led Zepplin, KISS, Tom Petty and the Beatles.

On Friday, take part in the tribute by becoming a part of the band! A KISS costume contest will take place before the nation’s top touring KISS tribute band, Strutter, takes the stage. The winner of the contest gets a $100 Lake Lawn gift card and will be chosen based off crowd’s reaction.

During the day on Saturday, kids can take part in a bunch of additional activities on the lake lawn like taking on the rock climbing wall, wrecking ball & obstacle course inflatables, bubble soccer, human foosball and so much more. While this may not be the main event, there will be no shortage of fun with these unique games.

Adults get to have their fun too… with a special ticket purchase you can compete in the 3rd Annual Walworth County Bags Championship. There will be cash payouts for the top 3 teams as well as other great prizes! The deadline to sign up your two-man team is Thursday, July 26.

FOOD

Great music and games are not the only thing to be enjoyed this weekend however. A fleet of food trucks will be arranged on the lawn to satisfy that craving for all of your summer favorites! Hot off the grill, Lake Lawn will be serving the backyard barbecue standbys like hot dogs, brats, hamburgers and cheeseburgers. The truck lineup will offer anything your heart desires, from BBQ to Polish sausages, Italian beef or steak sandwiches, Mexican dinners, and what I am most excited to try….Wood-Fired Pizza!

DRINK

Whether you’re a beer, wine or spirit drinker, Shake the Lake will be honoring the variety of flavors and talent that are available locally! Along with festive cocktails, the event’s Craft Beverage Experience will bring together local and craft beverage brewers, distilleries and wineries; including Geneva Lakes Brewing Company, Studio Winery, Lakefront Brewery, Driftless Glen Distillery and more! Festival-goers who are of legal drinking age will even have select opportunities for FREE samples.

With so much fun, food and drinks to be had at Shake the Lake, grab your tickets and make this your weekend getaway!

Fun on the lake is the greatest way to beat the summer heat! Whether you like to swim, fish, cruise, or enjoy time on the beach; Delavan has it all. Did you know that Delavan has not one, but two lakes to have fun in? While Delavan Lake may be the most popular, Lake Comus is a natural wonderland nestled a few blocks away from historic downtown.

Veteran’s Park on Lake Comus is the threshold to two fun watering holes. You can enjoy the calm and relaxing water of the lake by renting a kayak or paddle board fromDelavan Paddle Sports. Or take a take a splash in The Mill Pond‘s natural spring fed swimming pond that features a beach house with changing rooms and a concession stand.

If you’re like me, I have always wanted to get out on the lake in a wave runner! That’s why you should meet me at Lake Lawn Resort, because they offer so many activities that everyone can enjoy. You can rent pontoons, wave runners, kayaks, paddle boards, and more. Or if being in the water is not your thing, you can lounge by their indoor or two seasonal outdoor pools and enjoy the sun rays.

If you’re like my dad and love to fish, then you definitely want to head toLakeside Bait & Tackle. Rent one of their fishing boats or canoes and head out on Delavan Lake to find that prime spot to catch musky, bass or walleye. If you have a boat of your own, Community Park is your place to launch yourself into a day of fun whether you’re using the boat launch or paddling around on the beach.

This is only a sampling of all the water fun you can have in Delavan. Check out the list below for contacts to plan your aquatic adventure:

Not to shock anyone, but it’s practically the end of June already, and July follows June, and in July is Independence Day, or the 4th of July or whatever your personal preference is in calling it. Delavan takes advantage of the holiday itself being on a Wednesday by starting things early the weekend before and carrying through ’til July 4. How cool and fun is that?!

Lake Lawn Resort celebrates the holiday with their 4th of July Getaway package, good for arrival between June 29 and July 4, which includes a two night stay, unlimited mini-golf per person, two 140th Anniversary Celebration beach towels per room, and the All American Grill-Out Lawn Party Buffet with live music either on June 30 or July 4, per person, if staying either of those nights. The All American Grill-out Lawn Party Buffet is also open to the public each day it’s offered (again, June 30 and July 4) to be able to dine lakeside on the lawn, choosing from the traditional summer fare of Wisconsin brats and kraut, honey BBQ grilled chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs, bi-color sweet corn, baked beans, a variety of salads, pink lemonade, and create-your-own strawberry shortcake and s’mores cupcakes to finish it off. On June 30, enjoy the fireworks which begin at dusk (five or take 9:30 pm), by the Town of Delavan over Delavan Lake.

As far as those fireworks, they are the icing on the cake of the Town of Delavan’s Independence Day Celebration, June 30. Beginning at 2 pm in Community Park, there will be live music by Razzmatazz, then at 3 pm it’s an Echos of Camp Randall UW-Madison Marching Band performance, and then from 7 – 11 pm BCT plays. Concessions are open from 2 – 11 pm and the fireworks already mentioned are at approximately 9:30 pm.

Delavan shows their patriotic side with the annual ‘Let Freedom Ring’ celebration on July 4. Start the morning with the pancake breakfast at the Delavan Fire Station, 7 – 11 am; keep cool (positive assumption the weather will be nice) at the Mill Pond, open 12 – 2 pm; watch the parade at 3 pm through the downtown; then head to Phoenix Park for the UW-Madison Marching Band performance with the Delavan Youth Cheer group, 4 – 5 pm; then stick around for the Booze Brothers Review in the Bandshell, 5 – 8 pm. Finish the day at Veterans Park with the flag ceremony, 9 pm, and fireworks, 9:30 pm.

It’s almost time to celebrate the Red, White & Blue, and now you’ve got numerous ways to accomplish that in Delavan, from the weekend before through the 4th of July itself!

Happy 4th of July!

Yah, well, trying to do a play on “lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my” from the Wizard of Oz with the title of this blog… It’s Friday afternoon, it’s fairly hot out and therefore a bit muggy in my office, and you get what you get under those conditions! Besides, if you’re a reader of this blog, you should pretty much have my personality and/or sense of humor figured out by now. 😀

Alrighty then! So Brick Street Days is happening next weekend, Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23. With that is the celebration of the arts, history, music and culture of Delavan. This annual event stems from the original weekend in 2015 when Walldog mural artists descended on Delavan and painted the first 18 murals depicting various aspects of Delavan’s history. There are now 20 murals, with the most recent having been painted during last year’s Brick Street Days. There will be two guided tours (by wagon) of the downtown Walldog murals offered on Saturday, at noon and 1:30 pm. The tour can be picked up at the corner of 2nd Street and Walworth Avenue. It’s first come / first serve, with limited space, so plan accordingly.

Brick Street Days will officially kick off on Friday night at the Phoenix Park Bandshell. The LoveMonkeys, a Milwaukee band known best for entertaining the heck out of their audiences (I can attest to that, in having seen them multiple times over the years), are performers of rock, pop, reggae, country and original music. Synonyms used to describe them include entertaining, charismatic, fun and energetic. I agree with that list of words!

Saturday morning begins early at 9 am with brick laying dedication as commemorative bricks are being placed throughout the Downtown. 11 am brings arts and craft vendors, artists and art demonstrations, music, food, demonstrations by local businesses, kids activities, guided mural tours, live music, and much more. The Information Center will be open 10 am – 4:30 pm on Saturday only, located at 303 E. Walworth Avenue.

Also happening on Saturday is the Carson & Barnes Circus at Lake Lawn Resort’s Airport grounds with shows at 1:30 pm, 4:30 pm, and 7:30 pm.The family of the Carson & Barnes Circus is proud to present the World Debut of CircusSaurus! With the dawn of a new day comes a new era under the Big Top, and those that were once extinct will re-emerge again – right before your eyes! Watch as the Big Top is transformed into a time machine and embark on an adventure of a lifetime! Be amazed as dinosaurs shake the very ground we walk on. The trio of Deinoychus – Rumble, Rascal and Rebel – will transport you back in time and show you why dinosaurs ruled the land!

With so much to do next weekend, and more to choose from on Sunday, make it a weekend getaway of family fun, filled with memories in the making!

Being vegan, I look forward to this time of year with the variety of fresh, locally grown produce. No offense to my grocery store’s produce department, which I love, but there’s just something about farmers’ markets that has me trying veggies I wouldn’t even glance at in the grocery store (like Brussels sprouts!). Not that you care about my eating habits, but fresh, locally grown produce – fruits, veggies, jams, honey, etc. – even has me being more creative in my cooking.

Lucky for all of us, the farmers’ markets in Delavan begin this week and go through the end of September.

Personally, I’m loving the timing of one being on Thursday and the other being on Friday, so that I can easily attend both!

How about you? Will I see you there, meaning at both of them, of course?! If not, that just means more fresh, locally produce for me! Come join me and we can swap recipes and ideas for how to use the great stuff we’ll be getting.

It’s summer and as a kid that meant going to the movies to beat the heat ‘coz the theater had air conditioning! Well how about the option of watching a movie outdoors, in the park, under the stars? And how about if it was free to do?! Got your attention, don’t I…?

Darien ~

Head to West Park with blankets and lawn chairs for a relaxing evening watching a movie under the stars! Admission is free and the movie begins at 8:45 pm.June 15 – Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Delavan ~

Bring the whole family, all your friends and the neighborhood to Phoenix Park and enjoy a fun night watching a movie on a cinema-sized screen. Bring your own blankets and lawn chairs for getting comfy. Feel free to bring your own snacks, or don’t worry about it and enjoy the concessions that will be available. Admission is free and the movies begin at either 9 pm or 8:30 pm (see the listing above).June 8 – The Greatest ShowmanJuly 20 – FerdinandAugust 3 – Coco

This is such an easy decision to make in, so get these dates marked on your calendar!

For other family-friendly events going on in Delavan this summer,
go to VisitDelavan.com

Yes, it’s going actually going to be summer! The grass and trees are finally green, the farm fields are planted and the weather is getting progressively and consistently warmer. Patience in waiting it out is being rewarded! Memorial Day weekend is a time of both remembrance and the unofficial start to summer, with activities encompassing both.

People have come together to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country since the earliest ceremonies following the Civil War. As it was done then with the laying of wreaths and placing of flags, so it is still done today on this national day of remembrance. Another tradition is a Memorial Day parade, so as Washington, D.C., and Chicago for example, hold a Memorial Day Parade, so does Delavan. It will be on Monday, May 28, and begins at Main St. and Walworth Ave., in the Downtown, at 9 am. The parade goes to Spring Grove Cemetery for a ceremony that includes a rifle salute and taps.

The unofficial kick-off to summer has a wide variety of activities to go along wit this weekend. Start the weekend at N.E.W. Dueling Piano Guys on Friday, May 25, at 8 pm. It’s a fun night of music ranging from Billy Joel to Britney Spears to Bruno Mars and whatever you can think of to challenge them to play! The Piano Guys are the perfect combo of concert, comedy and creativity that will have you tapping your toe, laughing out loud and singing along! If you can’t make it Friday, they play Saturday as well, same time.

Saturday, May 26, at Delavan Lake Resort, from 2 – 4 pm, will help kick-off summer with Sangria and Saxophones. Hang out on the ‘patio’, sipping the first specialty sangria of the summer, Pineapple Moscato Summer, and listen to the cool sounds of live saxophone music. Other specials include $2 Affogatos (that’s a shot of espresso over a scoop of ice cream), $2 Rootbeer floats, and a free Delavan Lake souvenir with any apparel purchase. Sunday, May 27, from 9 am – 2 pm, start the day off with a Bloody Mary at the Build-Your-Own Skewer Bar! Bring out your inner bartender by putting together your own skewer from the variety of fun ingredients that will be provided.

Memorial Day weekend is typically when the bulk of the outdoor beautification happens, with hanging baskets, flowers, gardens, etc. are being thought of. Congdon Garden‘s will those their annual garden sale, this year titled ‘Through the Garden Gate’, on Saturday, May 25, from 9 am – 3 pm. Come browse the garden art and unique shrubs & trees for sale, as well as books, food, and various garden vendors attending. Get ideas from the variety of different areas at the Gardens to then do at your own home.

Rosewood also brings you a Bloody Mary and a Mimosa with their unlimited Bloody Mary & Mimosa Bar as part of their Memorial Day Sunday Brunch, held on Sunday, May 27. Seatings are at 11:30 am and 1 pm, offering up a unique, farm-to-table brunch with a chef-attended pasta station, omelets made-to-order, carving station, displayed hot & cold buffets, all finished off with their delectable sweets table.

Rosewood also begins this weekend their ‘Sunset on the Patio‘ event. Imagine Sunday afternoons from 5 – 10 pm, gathering with friends on a rustic and elegant patio with wine, beer and the summer beverages of your choice. Add grilled vegetable and meat kabobs, multiple fire pits, live music, dancing and special entertainment features, all as the sun sets over the beautiful Wisconsin country side. This is so the place to be with the expansive 4,000 square foot patio, cabana bar, raised gardens with flowers and herbs, a wood bonfire pit as well as gas fire pits, and comfy Adirondack chairs you’ll want to try and sneak home for your own deck or patio!

For a lake view on Sunday, May 27, find your way to Lake Lawn Resort and the Lakeside Lawn Party & Sizzling Pig Roast Buffet, 4:30 – 7 pm. Live music by Triple D will also be happening so your ears as well as your taste buds will be happy! The menu will leave you both satiated and wanting for more as you won’t be able to stop eating – it’s so good! Enjoy pulled whole rotisserie roasted pork sandwiches with smoked apple bourbon barbecue sauce, KC style cracked black pepper barbecue chicken, or Wisconsin grilled bratwurst burgers and this comes with all the summer buffet fixings of greens, pasta, potato, and fruit salads, brisket baked beans, jalapeno cheddar chive corn bread muffins with honey butter, and then there’s the desserts of make-your-own spring berry shortcake and chocolate peanut buttercream cupcakes. Oh my goodness…!

No matter how you choose to spend Memorial Day weekend in Delavan, there’s something to do, and so much in fact, you’ll just have to come back! To help plan that return trip, go to